Stormy Weather

Introduction

What is emergency response planning?

Most disasters in the United States (about 85 percent) occur because of the weather, with the rest due to such geologic events as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, or acts of terrorism. In an effort to minimize the costs of such tragedies, a system connecting federal, state, and local agencies has been established to issue weather warnings, plan evacuation routes, and coordinate relief efforts. Community awareness programs, building code enforcement, and computer modeling are all employed in this effort, with meteorologists naturally playing a key role.